Your success is my success…

If you’re open-minded, ready to share the nitty gritty of your business, looking for lots of creative input and love a reliable opinion (I confess to being brutally honest!), we’ll get along like a house on fire and achieve great things together.

Did I mention I was psychic?

Well almost… I do create designs that hit the spot first time and I’ve been accused on more than one occasion of being a “mind reader”. I have to confess it’s down to my knack of quickly getting to know people and what their businesses need.

My process is highly collaborative and most effective when I get the chance to become deeply immersed in your business.

This helps me create the concepts, write the words, design the graphics, come up with new ideas, formulate strategies and a whole lot more, to help you get results.

Design without boundaries…

I was born and bred in the beautiful Ribble Valley and cut my design teeth working at design agencies in Lancashire and Australia. I now live and run my business near Clitheroe, in the village of Sabden nestled at the foot of Pendle Hill.

The majority of my clients are from this lovely part of the world, who I meet up with on a regular basis. Thanks to the joys of modern technology I also hook up with clients all over the UK, Europe and beyond.

My journey started with a yellow post it note…

At the tender age of 14, as a pupil at Clitheroe Grammar, I attended a careers night, where a charming man from Granada television told me all about the exciting world of design and advertising. Being a creative type, I was sold hook, line and sinker (clearly he was good at his job!). He summarised my career pathway on a yellow post-it note… this became my first business plan.

Little did I know, this was also the night that I met my husband-to-be David, but that’s another story!

Off I went to Art College in my big baggy artist pants and with even bigger dreams. But it was while working one day a week for free in a local design agency where I got my real education.

Every Friday at Nick Clarke Design & Advertising was spent at the drawing board with Letraset, a scalpel and a can of spray mount – the only Apple in the studio back then was the one in my lunchbox – and I learnt more in one day than a whole week at college. So, when a junior artist apprenticeship was up for grabs it was bye-bye college (which with my first year distinction didn’t go down too well) and hello working world!

Several years on (we’re well into double figures at this point) I’d worked as a graphic designer, studio manager, account manager and print buyer in the UK and Australia, and studied for a “CIM Certificate in Marketing”.

In 2005 I decided to take all this hard-earned knowledge and start my own graphic design business. I now get to work with people I love, doing meaningful work I truly enjoy, and still make time for my young family, friends and a little me-time.

work hard + smart = happy work life balance = work hard + smart

A few random fun facts

During a 2 year trip through Asia & Oz I fell in love with Bali, stayed for 7 months and learnt to speak Indonesian

When it comes to breaktime I’m a bit “Meg Ryan” – decaff tea with soya milk and a non-dairy biscuit on the side

When I need to refuel my creativity you’ll find me on a tennis court, in down face dog or sipping a Hendricks

Giving Back

My profitable projects allow me to do non-profit work with local charity “The Northern Cleft Foundation”, who provide free corrective surgery to underprivileged children in India, born with cleft lip and palate deformities.

I travelled extensively in India and Asia in my 20’s and witnessed extreme poverty first hand, so it’s important to me to give something back and make a difference in more ways than one.

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A big thank you for your help with all you did for the ball.

It made a huge difference to the success of the event…

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We raised £27,000 which was way beyond expectation.

That will fund 135 ops which is wonderful!

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Thank you again. On behalf of me, George and lots of children you will never meet but will make a difference to.